Published: Wednesday, April 16, 2014 at 07:07 PM.

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A grant from the N.C. Department of Crime Control and Public Safety has allowed the Kinston Department of Public Safety to better assist both officers and members of the community.

Recently, each KDPS officer and investigator has been equipped with a body camera, which records color video and sound.

KDPS Director Bill Johnson said the technology is not only new, but much more inexpensive than the in-car cameras officers use.

“An in-car camera costs about $5,100, and we couldn’t do that for every vehicle,” Johnson said. “When we received the grant and this technology became available, it was the best of both worlds because the units cost about $300 a piece and the technology is new.”

A grant from the N.C. Department of Crime Control and Public Safety has allowed the Kinston Department of Public Safety to better assist both officers and members of the community.

Recently, each KDPS officer and investigator has been equipped with a body camera, which records color video and sound.

KDPS Director Bill Johnson said the technology is not only new, but much more inexpensive than the in-car cameras officers use.

“An in-car camera costs about $5,100, and we couldn’t do that for every vehicle,” Johnson said. “When we received the grant and this technology became available, it was the best of both worlds because the units cost about $300 a piece and the technology is new.”

Johnson said the cameras would be very essential for officer safety and evidence.

“When the officers are in their cars, they have the camera inside the vehicle, but there’s no documentation after they leave,” Johnson said. “When they travel on foot, whatever he or she encounters or is involved in becomes transparent, because they can’t show what happened.

“Another side effect is the conclusive evidence. Many times, a person can say ‘I didn’t do that’ or ‘I didn’t say that.’ Also, we have had complaints of people saying officers acted inappropriately.

When you have video and audio of an officer acting professional or a citizen using derogatory language or resisting arrest, the frivolous complaints tend to go down.”

The cameras are slightly larger than a police badge and each officer has done in-house training.

“The cameras won’t be turned on all the time,” Johnson said. “For example, if someone needed directions, there wouldn’t be a need to turn the camera on and record. Each officer will use the camera at their discretion. We just wanted to make the public aware and didn’t want to keep the information away from them.”

Cpl. Brian Biggins said he has used the camera twice already — for a disturbance call and a traffic stop — and doesn’t have any issues with the new equipment.

“I have an in-car camera and it doesn’t change how I make contact with citizens on my job,” Biggins said. “The camera doesn’t bother me, and it’s not an issue to wear it. I plan on using it for DWIs and actually showing impairment at traffic stops. The camera can show the person acting belligerent, falling down or using excessive language.”

Biggins also said the camera has an additional feature, which is helpful.

“We can run the loop we have on the conversation, and the camera can back up the conversation by 30 seconds and record it,” Biggins said.

Johnson said the cameras will help get the entire story.

“Everyone has a cell phone and uses the camera freely, but usually the footage attained doesn’t show what happened preceding the event,” Johnson said. “This camera will serve as a resource, so no matter how the incident plays out, there will be no misconceptions.”

Junious Smith III can be reached at 252-559-1077 and Junious.Smith@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JuniousSmithIII.